South Whidbey Record

South Whidbey will be kung-faux fighting

October 11, 2012 · Updated 2:45 PM Comments

NANDA will perform at South Whidbey High School Oct. 14. Pictured is their performance in Ashland, Ore. / David Lovere photo

BY RECORD STAFF

Jackie Chan and “Matrix” fans will jump out of their seats at this show featuring a calculated chaos of dancing, juggling, music, acrobatics, slow motion, pop-culture comedy and high energy kung-faux fighting.

NANDA, a four-man performing arts group, presents “The Jacket” at 5 p.m. Oct. 14 at South Whidbey High School. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $15 for students and seniors and $12 for children. Visit www.nandatown.com for tickets.

This “Kung-Faux Ninja Circus Arts Extravaganza” originated in Port Townsend about eight years ago and swept Seattle last fall with the first feature-length production, “The Jacket.”

NANDA Manager Daniel Milholland has been working with this group for over six years and has been close friends with the NANDA performers for much longer.

“This tour has given us the opportunity and incentive to reach out to an extensive network of friends, businesses, groups and organizations throughout the West Coast,” Milholland said in a press release. “We are building mutually beneficial and cross promotional partnerships with dozens of different types of businesses, which fully aligns with our vision of ‘Acrobaticalism,’ a NANDA-produced term that means to be part of a global community full of support, imagination and intercultural collaboration.”

“The Jacket” is meant to feel like watching an action-adventure blockbuster come to life on stage, according to a press release. NANDA’s unique brand of entertainment is characterized by comedic randomness that embraces seemingly spontaneous eruptions of spectacle. NANDA has developed a wide repertoire with skill-based performance pieces, which integrate juggling, acrobatics, dance and music, as well as a high-energy, comedy-driven form of stage combat referred to as “kung-faux.” The show is tied together with original music, cinematic sound effects and witty pop culture parodies.

“We knew our show had wide appeal factors within it, but it wasn’t until last year that we really felt confirmation that audiences ages 3 to 100 could truly enjoy ‘The Jacket,’” Milholland said.

The word nanda is a Japanese colloquialism that is translated as an expression of surprise. It’s no coincidence that “The Jacket” is filled with eruptions of the unexpected, both in physical prowess, but also in the creativity of the imagination behind each and every element performed in the show.

The story of “The Jacket” is told almost exclusively through physical action with minimal dialogue, making the show appealing across cultures and languages.